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N0KFQ > TODAY 12.01.16 16:42l 54 Lines 2432 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 81547_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Jan 12
Path: IZ3LSV<IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 160112/1533Z 81547@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1926
Original Amos `n' Andy debuts on Chicago radio
On this day in 1926, the two-man comedy series "Sam `n' Henry"
debuts on Chicago's WGN radio station. Two years later, after
changing its name to "Amos `n' Andy," the show became one of the
most popular radio programs in American history.
Though the creators and the stars of the new radio program,
Freeman Gosden and Charles Carrell, were both white, the
characters they played were two black men from the Deep South who
moved to Chicago to seek their fortunes. By that time, white
actors performing in dark stage makeup-or "blackface"-had been a
significant tradition in American theater for over 100 years.
Gosden and Carrell, both vaudeville performers, were doing a
Chicago comedy act in blackface when an employee at the Chicago
Tribune suggested they create a radio show.
When "Sam `n' Henry" debuted in January 1926, it became an
immediate hit. In 1928, Gosden and Carrell took their act to a
rival station, the Chicago Daily News' WMAQ. When they discovered
WGN owned the rights to their characters' names, they simply
changed them. As their new contract gave Gosden and Carrell the
right to syndicate the program, the popularity of "Amos `n' Andy"
soon exploded. Over the next 22 years, the show would become the
highest-rated comedy in radio history, attracting more than 40
million listeners.
By 1951, when "Amos `n' Andy" came to television, changing
attitudes about race and concerns about racism had virtually
wiped out the practice of blackface. With Alvin Childress and
Spencer Williams taking over for Gosden and Carrell, the show was
the first TV series to feature an all-black cast and the only one
of its kind for the next 20 years. This did not stop
African-American advocacy groups and eventually the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from
criticizing both the radio and TV versions of "Amos `n' Andy" for
promoting racial stereotypes. These protests led to the TV show's
cancellation in 1953.
The final radio broadcast of "Amos `n' Andy" aired on November
25, 1960. The following year, Gosden and Carrell created a
short-lived TV sequel called "Calvin and the Colonel." This time,
they avoided controversy by replacing the human characters with
an animated fox and bear. The show was canceled after one season.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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